Art Notes: July 14

Published: Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 10:52 a.m.

Miriam Hughes of Hendersonville recently won the Dakota Award in the 2013 North Carolina Statewide Pastel Juried Exhibition for her piece "Sleeping Hound Dog."

The "On Common Ground: Pastels from the Mountains to the Sea" exhibit will display through Aug. 18 at the Hickory Museum of Art in the Arts & Science Center of the Catawba Valley, 243 Third Ave. NE, Hickory.

"On Common Ground" is the second annual North Carolina statewide juried pastel exhibition, and it features 77 pastel paintings selected from 203 submissions. The show is a collaboration of three pastel societies in North Carolina: the Appalachian Pastel Society, the Pastel Society of North Carolina and the Piedmont Pastel Society.

On "Sleeping Hound Dog," Hughes said, "this one dog captured my heart, and I barely remember creating him because it was so seamless and from the heart. He looked as if he were in a happy dream. It created one of those magical moments where you are the art."

The museum is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.

Visitors can learn about the artistic value and functionality of this remarkable grass in a weekend of crafting workshops, art installations, demonstrations and lectures. Nursery owners, international professors and bamboo farmers will present on a range of topics.

Proceeds will benefit the Southeast Chapter of the American Bamboo Society and assist with festival expenses.

A bamboo Q&A panel discussion will be at 2 p.m. today.

This event is free for Arboretum Society members or with the standard parking fee ($8 per personal motor vehicle).

Call 828-665-2492 or visit www.ncarboretum.org for more information.

TRYON

Guntram Gersch's art on display at TFAC

The art of Guntram Gersch is on display through Saturday at Tryon Fine Arts Center in Gallery One and the adjacent Mahler Room.

The executor of the estate has announced the exposition and sale of framed paintings and ceramics from the artist's Tryon residence at the time of his death on Jan. 13. By terms of Gersch's will, the proceeds of this sale will benefit Hospice of the Carolina Foothills.

The center is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays.

At 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, there will be an hourlong "walk-and-talk" through the two galleries with estate executor and art historian Michael McCue. McCue will speak about the art and life of Gersch. Bidding will be suspended during this presentation.

The silent auction will be conducted by hospice volunteers. Bidding for each artwork will begin at $100, with incremental increases of $50.

Gersch selected the paintings for this sale as among the best and most representative of his artistic career, which began in the 1960s. His early study at the Art Institute of Chicago focused on ceramics, so the several ceramics exhibited are of unusual interest. In addition, there is a self-portrait drawn on a menu while aboard a 1982 Swissair flight to the Near East, and a fine steel table designed by Gersch and executed by Tryon crafter William Crowell.

To see images of Gersch's work, visit www.guntramgersch.info/memorialexhibition. Email Michael@CondarPress.com for more information.

BREVARD

Photography exhibit at TCAC through Aug. 9

The Transylvania Community Arts Council has teamed up with the Land of Waterfalls Camera Club for an exhibit of photography on display through Aug. 9 at the Council, 349 S. Caldwell St., Brevard.

The TC Arts Council will host a reception for the public to meet the artists during the Brevard 4th Friday Gallery Walk from 5-9 p.m. July 26.

The gallery is open from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 828-884-2787 or visit www.artsofbrevard.org for more information.

Susan Crandall will speak at Fountainhead

The Fountainhead Bookstore at 408 N. Main St., Hendersonville, will host a talk with Susan Crandall, author of "Whistling Past the Graveyard" about her new novel at 5:30 p.m. July 23.

For fans of Southern stories such as "The Help" and "The Kitchen House," "Whistling Past the Graveyard" is a tender coming-of-age story about a 9-year-old girl who runs away from her Mississippi home in 1963, befriends a black woman traveling alone with a white baby, and embarks on a road trip that changes both of their lives forever.

Crandall won the RITA award as well as two National Reader's Choice awards for her first book, "Back Roads." She has released eight more critically acclaimed and award-winning novels.

Call 828-697-1870 for more information.

ASHEVILLE

Art museum hosting Tuesday concerts

In conjunction with the Brevard Music Center's Summer Festival, the Asheville Art Museum is hosting a summertime series of special performances at 7 p.m. Tuesdays through July 23 in the Museum's renovated Art works PRIMED East Wing upstairs gallery.

Early reservations are recommended, as seating to this concert series is limited. Tickets are $6 for museum members and $10 for non-members.

Tickets to the performances can be purchased at the museum's front desk or by calling 828-253-3227.

ASHEVILLE

Exhibit inspired by Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail has inspired a new exhibit on display through July 23 at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery, 38 Biltmore Ave., Asheville.

Named "Along the Trail," 10 percent of all proceeds from sales of the works associated with the exhibit will be donated to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and its local trail-maintaining clubs.

"The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is proud to team up with the Blue Spiral 1 Gallery," said Lenny Bernstein, board member with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. "This exhibit has been a wonderful way to showcase the love of the Appalachian Trail that these artists share with hikers and naturalists."

The ATC was founded in 1925 by volunteers and federal officials working to build a continuous footpath along the Appalachian Mountains.

The gallery is open to the public from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Call 828-251-0202 for more information.

BREVARD

Rock climbing is focus at library lunch event

The Transylvania County Library's Bag Lunch Arts Series continues at noon Tuesday in the Rogow Room with the presentation of "Rock Climbing in Our Backyard Paradise" by rock climbing enthusiast Mike Reardon.

Reardon and fellow climber Brad Woolf have recently written a rock climbers' guidebook, "Cedar Rock and Satellite Crags," focusing on areas in the Pisgah National Forest.

Reardon will present a slide show on the making and writing of the book, an introduction to rock-climbing basics, and a look into the culture of rock climbing throughout Western North Carolina. He is a climbing guide at Pura Vida Adventures in Brevard.

The Bag Lunch Arts Series is sponsored by the Friends of the Transylvania County Library. There is no charge to attend, and the public is welcome to bring along a bag lunch. Refreshments are provided by the Friends include cookies and coffee from Blue Ridge Bakery.

Call 828-884-3151 for more information.

Arts council accepts entries for August show

The Arts Council of Henderson County is making a call for artists to enter "Bring Us Your Best X," an all-media visual art exhibition opening with an awards reception from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 9.

The exhibition will be hosted by Blue Ridge Community College, 180 W. Campus Drive, Flat Rock, in the Conference Hall of the Technology Education & Development Center. Regional visual artists, from part-time hobbyists to full-time professionals, are called to enter their work in "Bring Us Your Best," now in its 10th year. Entries will be received from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 5-6. No late entries will be allowed. There are no geographic restrictions for entrants.

A juried and judged competition, "Bring Us Your Best X" offers $2,000 in cash awards in addition to $500 in gift certificates from Starving Artist Fine Art Supplies and Custom Framing. First-, second- and third-place cash prizes will be awarded in four categories: 2-D work, 3-D work, fine craft and photography.

All gallery visitors will be encouraged to vote for their favorite piece in the show, and the "People's Choice" award winner will be announced on the final day of the show. The winning artist will receive a $250 Starving Artist gift certificate.

The exhibition will display weekdays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 15-30. The reception and exhibition are free and handicapped-accessible. All artwork will be priced for sale during the exhibit.

Call 828-693-8504, email acofhc@bellsouth.net or visit www.acofhc.org for more information.

TRYON

Art collection is theme of Upstairs exhibit

Collecting art is the theme of the "Seeing Is Believing: The Collection of Ray Griffin and Thom Robinson" exhibit opening Friday at the Upstairs Artspace, 49 S. Trade St., Tryon. The exhibit will display through Aug. 31.

The private collection built by Asheville partners features 34 artists working in genres of painting, photography, sculpture and outsider art.

A major attraction of the show is that, in addition to their works in the collection, most of the artists have created new work for the show to be sold as a benefit for Upstairs. Griffin and Robinson will conduct a panel discussion, "Why Collect Art?" at 7 p.m. Aug. 6.

Also opening Friday is "Crossing the Line," an exhibit of colorful folk art by Bonnie Bardos and Charlotte Fowler.

The opening reception for the "Seeing Is Believing" exhibit will be from 5-8 p.m. Saturday.

The gallery is open from noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call 828-859-2828 or visit www.upstairs artspace.org for more information.

Compiled from staff reports

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